Vernon – Bill Lunde, a pro tour golfer who became so disenchanted with his game that he quit for 19 months, captured his first PGA Tour victory on Sunday at the Turning Stone Resort Championship.

Lunde closed with a 66 for a 17-under-par total of 271 to capture a first-place prize worth $720,000, plus a two-year exemption on tour and a spot in next week's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

"I don’t think it’s quite real yet," the 34-year-old native of San Diego and former golf team captain at UNLV said after hoisting the trophy. "I think it will sink in when … I get back away from all this (media attention)."

Lunde, who fired a 64 on Saturday at Atunyote Golf Club, picked up where he left off Sunday when he rattled off six birdies on the front nine to get to 17-under. That put him alone in the lead and one shot ahead of J.J. Henry, who had completed his round much earlier with a 63 – the fourth time this week that the course-record-tying number had been reached.

Lunde suffered his only bogey of the day at the 11th hole to drop into a three-way tie at 16-under, then made the shot that ultimately won the tournament at the par-3 16th hole. There, lost in thought over the pressure of the moment, he walked to the tee box first and pegged his ball in ground before realizing his potential breach of etiquette.

"I thought to myself, it’s not even my turn. It’s Robert’s tee," he said of playing partner Robert Garrigus. "And so I backed away and I’m like, Robert, I think you’re up."

When it was his turn to hit, a composed, albeit slightly embarrassed, Lunde laced a 6-iron that stopped 4 feet from the pin, 177 yards away. The resulting birdie putt proved to be the game winner.

Henry’s 272 mark (16-under) held up for second place, and he was followed by a pack of five players at 273 – Jerry Kelly (64), Josh Teater (66), Michael Sim (66), Billy Mayfair (69) and third-round leader Alex Cejka (72).

Cejka saw his own attempt to win his first PGA Tour event end on the 14th hole, when his drive found the creek on the left side of the fairway. He had begun the back nine with three straight birdies to get to 16-under – and tied with Lunde and Henry – before making the bogey at the waterfall hole.

"Everybody was 16-under and I just said, one more birdie," Cejka said. "And then I just hit it in the water. A bogey under those circumstances really cost me. If I don’t make bogey there, I had great chances on 15 and 16."

As for Lunde, he gave himself his biggest chance three years ago when he decided to resume his golf career.

Lunde had played on the Nationwide Tour in 2004 and ’05, missing more cuts than he made and scrambling for less than $40,000 that second season.

"(It) was a tough year and I just wasn’t enjoying any aspect – traveling, golf, practicing at home. I was doing everything because I had to, not because I wanted to," Lunde said.

So he quit – cold turkey – and went into sales, making cold calls for Las Vegas Founders, the organization that runs the Las Vegas PGA Tour stop, and working for a title company.

For 19 months, he barely touched a golf club, causing his wife to shake her head with disbelief that the former captain of UNLV’s 1998 national championship team – which included future PGA Tour players Charley Hoffman and Chad Campbell – was not trying to cash in on his true meal ticket. He said he found it humbling when he had to ask her "for a hundred bucks" to go out with the boys, but was still not motivated to make a move until the bottom fell out of the housing market.

"I lost my job and didn’t really know what to do," he said. With few other options, he resumed his golf career on the Butch Harmon Tour – a mini-tour in Las Vegas – and adopted a new attitude.

"I tried to make an agreement with myself when I started playing again," he said. "If I could just have a better attitude right off the bat, I’d become a better player than I ever was before. And that was kind of my goal."

The attitude adjustment worked wonders. He earned another chance on the Nationwide Tour in 2008 and not only won a tournament but finished fifth on the money list and earned a full exemption on the PGA Tour.

Last year, he won more than $825,000 as a PGA Tour rookie and this year he has suddenly become a winner. On Sunday, he was fully aware of how much his second chance meant.

"Just working made me appreciate golf more and the lifestyle and the opportunities we have," he said. "You know, your life could change in one week."